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The following process-related recommendations are intended to respond to concerns expressed by customers and <br />incorporate procedural improvement possibilities observed by the consulting team. These improvements are designed <br />to improve communication and access to information; reduce the time required to obtain permits and improve the <br />customer experience when interacting with the Department. <br /> <br />A.Communication <br /> <br /> <br />Findings <br /> <br />The variety of independent prerequisites before the issuance of a building permit provides multiple opportunities <br />for ambiguity and difficulty in coordination. Currently, there is not a single person charged with coordinating all <br />aspects of a project from initial application to final approval so it can be challenging for customers to know exactly <br />which sub-applications apply for a particular project and the correct submittal sequence. <br /> <br />Staff acknowledged that multiple resubmittals do occur, but generally believe those cases are a result of poor plans <br />being submitted or designers modifying unrelated items (on which the additional comments are based). There is a <br />gap between the perceptions of the customers and the staff that needs to be resolved. <br /> <br />Recommendations <br /> <br />1.Pre-Development Meetings with customers: <br /> <br /> <br />i.Establish routine days and times for pre-development meetings when staff will be available. <br /> <br />ii.Establish which staff is required to attend the pre-development meetings, and hold those staff <br /> <br />accountable for attendance. Establish a protocol and assign responsibility to the appropriate <br />person for notifying the staff of their attendance requirement. <br />iii.Publicize the availability and schedule of pre-development meetings on the web site and in the <br /> <br />Planning Department lobby. Encourage staff to reinforce the preference for using the pre- <br />development meeting format whenever possible in their interactions with the public. <br />iv.Develop a pre-development meeting checklist that outlines all of the permits that may be <br /> <br />necessary for a particular project, so that the applicant is made aware of the multiple steps that <br />may be needed before they make their first submittal. Also, provide fee schedules associated <br />with each of the applicable permits. <br />v.Utilize the pre-development meeting to review the checklist and have staff available to <br /> <br />elaborate and answer questions. Also, utilize this meeting to communicate lessons learned from <br />similar projects, such as critical review items and long lead-time aspects of the permitting <br />process, to assist the customer in planning their overall schedule. <br /> <br />Staff is creating a predevelopment applicant consultation packet, which includes a comprehensive <br />checklist of all development processes. The checklist also contains website links to further explain <br />each process. <br />4 Planning Department Review Mueller Management/Ron Cox Consulting <br /> <br /> <br />